West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-05-27
GIRLS, GIRLS, GO WEST!


than 200 of the men are bachelors
ranging in age from % to 90. Red
Bend is some distance from a rail
road, and it has been a very difficult
matter to get young women to locate
here. Most Of the girls who come
into this region stop at Yakima, or
90 thence to the larger towns south
of here.
When the school house was built
the directors advertised in various
Territorial papers for teacher, and
the first one who presented herself
was employed. She had not been at
the desk fortnight before she was
married to storekeeper named Ell
verson, who was about the best look
ing young man in the town. She re-
signed her place, but consented to
serve until her successor had arrived.
One of the young women with whom
the committee has been in CORES
pondence was found disengaged, and
in the course of a month she trans
ferred herself to Red Bend and took
charge of the school. She was toll
erably homely woman somewhat adj
vanced in years, but she, too, was
led to the altar in less than a month,
and gave up the school as her pred
ecessor had done.
Once again her place was filled,
and things went on smoothly for a
while. About that time McGinn,
the tavern keeper, imported a SER
want girl from Portland, and put her
to work in his kitchen at salary of
so a week. Mrs. McGinn was not
very lusty, and her husband found
that the only way in which keeping
hotel was possible was for him to
have efficient female help. He had
had serious trouble in getting any
body to come, but the wages that he
offered finally induced the girl spo-
ken of to accept the job. She had
no more than learned the ways of
the kitchen before two or three young
men began to hang around the hack
door of the tavern. McGinn was
equal to the emergency. He watch
ed matters for day or two, and, be-
coming convinced that the school
house episodes were to have n repe-
tition in his own kitchen, lie got n
gun, and just as a young man ap-
peared at the back door the next
evening after supper he jumped out
on him.
"What do you want here?" he
asked.
Nothing" said the fellow color
ing up a little; nothing much, |
was just calling on the girl in there.
She's an old friend of my family,
and / look in once in while to see
how she's getting on"
We'll, I'm a friend of your family,
too" said McGinn, "to the extent
that / don't want to kill you, but if
you don't keep away from here I'll
murder you. Now, you git"
The youth skunk away. The next
day the girl was missing from the
kithen, and late in the afternoon it
was discovered that she had married
the young man. The same day the
school mistress announced her res
ignation, and as McGinn was on the
warpath with his gun, the leading
citizens made up their minds tnat
a crisis had arrived which would re-
quire a good deal of craftsmanship
to bridge over.
That evening, when the school com
mittee met to consider things, Mr.
Elder, the chairman said he had an
idea which he thought might be wor-
thy the attention Of his associates. He
proposed that in the future all school
teachers should be made to sign q
bond not to marry before the end of
the term. The idea was accepted,
but fearing that the conditions might
make it impossible for them to get
women into the town, they said moth
ing about them to the one with whom
they opened negotiations. She came
on and after deciding to take the
place was inyormed OF the contract
which she would have to sign. To
this she Indignantly declined to ac-
cede. The school committee was III
exorable, and so was she. She said
she would leave for home in the morn
ing. The committeeman looked at
one another to see if anybody was
weakening. but no one appeared to
be willing to give in; so it was de-
cided that she would have to 90.
This particular girl was young and
very vivacious, and when she started
off with school director Beebe for
Yakima the whole town wished she
would stay. An hour later Beebe
drove into town with the girl still in
his wagon, and to the people who
gathered around the vehicle, with
questions he said:
The fact is we've decided to get
married. She didn't want to 60 back,
and l didn't want to have her 60"
Everybody felt that Beebe had play
ed roots on everybody else. but there
was nothing to say.